Like Spring, Change is in the Air

For many months I have been contemplating making some majors changes. Even though I have made a good amount of change in my life, I knew I needed more. I also began really looking at my business and even though I love every photograph I take I realized that I need to direct my energies into something a bit more specific. I enjoy every aspect of photography, from meeting people to the last image I work on, but I know success will come from specializing, so as of right now I am taking myself out of a couple of markets.

I have had this pull of wanting to photograph women over forty. I feel we are such a neglected group of people. At this age we are raising children or may be getting ready to hatch them out of the nest, but we are so busy we neglect ourselves. We are no longer in family photos because most of the time we are the photographer or we are uncomfortable with how we look because we simply don’t have the time to take care of our own needs and have let ourselves go. As I have shared in prior posts I was so guilty of this, for as many great vacations our family went on, I have lots of photos of my ex-husband and our boys, but none of myself and it makes me incredibly sad to think they don’t have photos of their mom. When I’m gone how are their kids and grandkids going to remember me?

I have shared this before; it took me stepping in front of a camera to understand how important it is.

This brings me to my changes…..I have changed my look totally and I have also changed my reach on photography. I will continue doing events and concerts because I truly love the challenge of them, but when it comes to portraiture work I am scaling back on weddings and families and I am going to focus on women, specifically women over forty. I feel this is where I should be. I will only photograph weddings and family portraits when they are referred, but I will no longer solicit for them.

I am in the process of creating some studio space for myself so that I can invite clients to my home for a shoot if needed, although my passion is being outdoors and getting the perfect images with nature all around. I am in the process of re-evaluating where my pricing needs to be to make a living at doing what I love.

It’s not an easy road, but it will be a wonderful journey even if the road gets too bumpy and I think I should turn back, I won’t! Photography is my passion and I will live my dreams. I also need to nurture my relationships with others, my tendency is to steamroll into whatever I am doing and neglect the people I care about, but I have learned I must have healthy relationships and make sure those I care about know it. I must also take care of my emotional and physical needs and allow myself to be taken care of from time to time. Also, I simply must take my camera out for a day of shooting either alone or with friends, but I must do it. Life is all about the journey and what we leave behind. What is your legacy?